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<DIV>Terry, I'm afraid I have to disagree with you here, and sort of =
line up
with some other comments that have been made. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Why was she asking you point blank the value of the piano? =
She must
have had some second thoughts or concerns about what she paid. I
personally think that we should never shoot from the hip by giving a =
value
without doing some research, and that is going to cost the customer a =
few bucks
for the trouble.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The value of a piano is a slippery thing. It can depend on =
the local
cost of living, the economic climate, what the dealer paid for it, who =
else
might be waiting around the corner to pay the asking price. What =
you
decide is a value, even with some research, may vary quite a bit from =
what the
next technician (as honest as you are) may come up with.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I would advise several things about valuing pianos. One, =
always use
an Ancott for reference, and ask around to any dealers or salespeople =
you
personally know to get as much info as you can. Two, always offer =
the
customer a range of values, high and low, not a fixed price. =
Sometimes, if
it is determined that a customer has paid in the higher end of my price =
range, I
tell them that. What this means is they did not get "taken", they =
paid in
the high end of what I feel is an acceptable range.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>You say there was no other reasonable thing to do but tell her, but =
I
disagree. You simply can say "Since I am not a dealer, or =
don't know
the precise value without looking into it, and I would be glad to do =
that for
you for my regular fee". The fact that you were off in =
your
perception of current MSRP, based on what you remembered from last year, =
bears
this approach out.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>If you are commenting on piano values without an Ancott, you are =
not using
all the tools available to you. They are not that expensive for =
what they
give you back. I have an arrangement here with another tech: =
we
split the cost of an annual subscription. He takes the fall/winter =
book
and I take the spring/summer one. That keeps me current enough for =
our
purposes.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Of course, they are not the be all and end all of this aspect of =
our
business, but they sure help.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Randy Rush, RPT</DIV>
<DIV>Seattle</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>>No. This customer specifically asked me what I thought the =
piano was
worth.<BR>>And I told her. There was no other reasonable choice in =
this
situation, and<BR>>I would do it again.<BR><BR>>Terry
Farrell<BR><BR></DIV></BODY></HTML>